Shares in Funding Circle took a 5% hit on Friday as it pulled out of a fund aimed at the small business loans market.
It said that FCIF (Funding Circle SME Income Fund Limited) shareholders had indicted they want it to stop investing and be wound up in an “orderly and expeditious fashion”.
Samir Desai, Funding Circle’s CEO and co-founder, said: “A global income fund providing access to a diversified portfolio of Funding Circle small business loans was the right strategy for investors and Funding Circle in 2015. However, there are now more appropriate and varied ways for investors to participate on the platform.”
Funding Circle floated at 440p in October. Today they fell 16p to 326p, which leaves the company valued at £1.13 billion.
A note to the stock market said: “The Board shall shortly publish a circular convening an Extraordinary General Meeting at which shareholders will be invited to consider an orderly winding down of the Company.”
Funding Circle says it plans to launch a new UK fund and a bond fund, looking to raise £200 million in the next few years.
FCIF has been hit by the impact of new IFRS accounting rules.
